Swimming gloves

ABSTRACT

A glove for biasing a user&#39;s hand into an optimal position for swimming. The glove having a body member with a thumb hole and closure flaps, four finger portions secured to the body member and a resilient member secured to the body member and extending across the four finger portions, wherein the resilient member in cooperation with the four finger portions reduces splaying of fingers during a swimming stroke, restricts balling of the hand when worn and restricts touching of the fingers when worn.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to gloves that bias a hand into an optimalposition for swimming. In particular, it relates to gloves that promotemuscle memory of the optimal hand position and improve swimmingperformance.

2. Description of the Related Art

New swimmers and those learning to swim most often exhibit one of tworeactions on entering the water. They may show a ‘startle’ reflexleading to splayed fingers or a stress reflex tending to curl thefingers into a fist.

Either reaction is detrimental to swimming performance as it limits thepower of the hand to push water down the body, the key propulsionmechanism in all four functional strokes.

New swimmers and those learning to swim often struggle with a number ofbarriers to developing efficient strokes, such as getting the correctbody position to remain buoyant, keeping the kick going, getting the armaction rhythmic and effective and breathing. These barriers can take aconsiderable amount of time to overcome and the ability of new swimmersto focus on overcoming multiple barriers simultaneously is limited.

Furthermore, all swimmers suffer inefficiency in their stroke withoutoptimisation of their hand position for swimming.

The present invention seeks to address these and other problems.

Whilst it is noted that there are a wide range of swimming aids andgloves readily available, the purpose of these is to provide additionalthrust during a stroke by widening the effective hand width, either by ahard surface paddle that has an increased surface area or through amechanism that provides webbing between the fingers.

They do not take into consideration the need to optimise a swimmer'shand position. Specifically, they do not limit the fingers ability tospread widely, in fact many promote this poor finger position, and theydo not constrain the ability of the fingers to touch one another or toball into a fist.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a glove for biasinga user's hand into an optimal position for swimming, the glovecomprising a resilient portion that reduces splaying of fingers during aswimming stroke.

The glove/paddle may be comprise finger portions that extend to thefirst knuckle of the outside fingers, i.e. ring and baby fingers, whenbeing worn, and these finger portions may be non-webbed.

The resilient and/or an elasticated portion may surround the fingerswhen being worn.

The glove may be of laminar construction and comprise a resilient memberthat consists of one or more layers of resilient material and/or anelasticated component.

The glove may comprise an adjustable attachment means.

The glove may be made of neoprene, and the resilient portion may be madeof moulded plastic.

Using the glove of the present invention a new swimmer or a learner canachieve an optimal hand position for swimming. Additionally, withprolonged use of the glove of the present invention, the new swimmer orlearner will train their muscle memory to automatically adopt theoptimal hand position when swimming even when the aid is no longer inuse.

Furthermore, more experienced swimmers will be able to use the glove ofthe present invention to attain an optimal hand position and improvetheir swimming efficiency and performance.

Also, the invention enables the barriers to swimming to be reduced byensuring that swimmers are able to maintain sufficient forward momentumto remain buoyant and thereby become stronger swimmers.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description when viewed inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, which set forth certainembodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a glove of the present invention inan open conformation;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a glove of the present invention ina closed conformation;

FIG. 3 is an elevation view of a glove of the present invention in aclosed conformation;

FIG. 4 is an exploded elevation view of a glove of the present inventionin a closed conformation;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective right hand view showing a glove of thepresent invention in a closed conformation;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective left hand view showing a glove of thepresent invention in a closed conformation;

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a glove of the present invention beingworn;

FIG. 8 is an underneath view showing a glove of the present inventionbeing worn; and

FIG. 9 is a side view showing a glove of the present invention beingworn.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein.It should be understood, however, that the disclosed embodiments aremerely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in variousforms. Therefore, the details disclosed herein are not to be interpretedas limiting, but merely as a basis for teaching one skilled in the arthow to make and/or use the invention.

It is not natural for people to swim efficiently as this activity is notoptimised during human evolution (Minetti et al. 2009. Biomechanics42:2188-2190). Therefore, people need to actively learn to swim anddevelop efficient techniques to support this ability. This processrequires learning to hold and move individual limbs and body parts andthe coordination of many individual actions.

Typical human reactions to stress include a startle reflex that includessplaying of fingers, while reaction to pressure often results inclenching of the fist. Even mild forms of such reactions displayed bynew or learning swimmers on entering the water will reduce or limit theefficiency of a swimming stroke.

Hand position of elite swimmers has been studied, and an optimal handposition for swimming determined. This optimal hand position is found ina resting hand with fingers adopting a naturally spaced position wherethe gap between fingers are equal to half the width of the fingers. Thishand position can increase the power of the hand action by up to 53%compared to widely spaced or closed fingers (Lorente et al. 2012.Journal of Theoretical Science 308:141-146).

As provided in FIG. 1, a glove of the present invention promotes theadoption of the optimal hand position in a swimming stroke. The glove ofFIG. 1 is formed from a body member 1 having a thumb opening/hole 2,closure flaps 3, finger portions 4, a resilient member 5 and anadditional layer member 6. The resilient member may also be anelasticated component. The finger portions 4 and the resilient member 5are connected to opposing faces of the body member 1, and an additionallayer member 6 is attached to the resilient member. The glove may bysecured to the hand, in use, by securing together of the closure flaps 3using an engagement means 8 such as a hook and loop type fastener. Theengagement means forming an adjustable attachment means. In the closedposition the glove is secured to the user's hand during a swimmingstroke. The finger portions 4 are dimensioned to only extend from thepalm to or below the first knuckle of a user's hand.

It will be appreciated that alternative arrangements of the fingerportions 4 and resilient member 5 can be provided. For example, they maybe in direct contact, they may be separated by the body member as shownor they may be separated by one or more layer members. Additionally, theresilient member may extend the full length or only part of the lengthof the finger portions.

It will be further appreciated that the body member 1, the fingerportions 4 and/or the additional layer member 6 may be made of anymaterial that does not noticeably increase resistance of the hand inwater or increase buoyancy of the hand, for example, neoprene.

It will also be appreciated that the resilient member 5 will be made ofa resilient material that is capable of providing a biasing resistanceto restrict or inhibit the movement of individual fingers during aswimming stroke, for example, moulded plastic.

FIGS. 2-6 show the glove of FIG. 1 in a closed configuration withclosure flaps 3 engaged so as to secure the glove to a user's hand.

It will also be appreciated that any suitable engaging mechanism can beprovided to secure the closure flaps 3 such that, in use, the glove issecured to the hand during a swimming stroke.

FIGS. 7-9 show a glove of the present invention in use with closureflaps secured to secure the glove to the hand, the finger portions 4encircling the fingers and connected to the resilient member 5.

As mentioned above for FIGS. 1-6, a suitable engaging mechanism can beprovided on one or more closure flaps to ensure that the glove remainssecured to the hand when in use.

As mentioned above for FIGS. 1-6, an additional layer member covers theresilient member. In the arrangement of FIG. 8, the resilient member 5is not covered by a layer member.

As will be appreciated from the above description, the present inventionprovides a glove that enables biasing a swimmer's hand to an optimalposition during a swimming stroke. It also enables a new swimmer or alearner swimmer to develop the required muscle memory to promote anoptimal hand position during a swimming stroke.

It will also be appreciated that a moulded paddle with equivalentfunctionality may also be designed.

The present invention promotes optimal hand position for swimming whichis defined as slightly curved palm and fingers, with fingers lengthenedand naturally spaced, where the inter-digit distance is approximatelyhalf of the digit width. This position is equivalent to standing withhands at rest by the side of the body.

Hands held in an optimised position when in the water have asignificantly increased power. Optimal hand position is hard tomaintain, even for those who are aware of it because it requires focuson fine motor control of the fingers when many gross motor movements areoccurring simultaneously, such as kicking legs and moving arms, thatdistract the brain from hand position. The present invention allows auser to develop this.

The human body is capable of developing a sense of muscle memory formuch repeated movements to the point that the movement is completed inan identical fashion often without the person even being consciouslyaware, such as changing gear while driving. Developing muscle memory forunhelpful habits, such as widely spaced fingers while swimming, isparticularly hard to correct. A focus on developing positive habitsearly on in skill development enables those habits to become embedded inthat persons on-going behaviour, to become a sub-conscious skill

In this way, the invention is an aid that enables optimal hand positionwhile swimming, without the user having to consciously remember to holdtheir fingers correctly. Furthermore it will increase the user's handpower, increasing the rate at which they can overcome barriers tolearning to swim or improving their swimming, while also enabling themuscle memory of optimal hand position to be a skill they carry withthem for life.

1. A glove for biasing a user's hand into an optimal position forswimming, the glove comprising: a body member having a thumb hole andclosure flaps; four finger portions secured to the body member; and aresilient member secured to the body member and extending across thefour finger portions, wherein the resilient member in cooperation withthe four finger portions reduces splaying of fingers during a swimmingstroke, restricts balling of the hand when worn and restricts touchingof the fingers when worn.
 2. The glove of claim 1, wherein the glovecomprises finger portions dimensioned to extend only to or below thefirst knuckle of a user's hand when being worn.
 3. The glove of claim 1,wherein the glove comprises non-webbed finger portions.
 4. The glove ofclaim 1, wherein the resilient portion is covered.
 5. The glove of claim1, wherein the resilient member consists of one or more layers ofresilient material.
 6. The glove of claim 1, further comprising anadjustable attachment means.
 7. The glove of claim 1, wherein the gloveis made of neoprene.
 8. The glove of claim 1, wherein the resilientmember is made of moulded plastic.